Anuradha T. K. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anuradha T.K.
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| Born | 30 April 1960 Bangalore, Mysore State, India
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| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering |
| Alma mater | University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering |
| Known for | Her help in GSAT-12 and first female team leader in ISRO |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Space Science |
| Institutions | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) |
Anuradha T.K. is a famous retired Indian scientist. She worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). She was a Program Director, specializing in communication satellites.
Anuradha T.K. helped launch important satellites like GSAT-12 and GSAT-10. She was the most senior female scientist at ISRO. She joined the space agency in 1982. She was also the first woman to become a satellite project director at ISRO.
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Early Life and Education
Anuradha T.K. was born in Bangalore, India, in 1961. She earned a bachelor's degree in electronics. She studied at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore.
She always dreamed of working in space. Because of this, she turned down an offer from the India Institute of Science. She wanted to join the space program right away.
Family Inspiration
Anuradha has three sisters. Her father was a Sanskrit professor. Her mother was a homemaker. Her parents told her many stories about the Moon mission. Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon in 1969 when she was in primary school.
Her parents encouraged all their daughters to follow their dreams. Two of her sisters became electrical engineers. Her other sister became a doctor.
Anuradha married into a family that also loved electronics. Her husband is a general manager at Bharat Electronics. Her oldest daughter is a computer science engineer in the US. Her second daughter studies electronic engineering. Anuradha shared that her family was always very supportive. This helped her focus on her career.
Career at ISRO
Anuradha T.K. chose to stay in India for her career. Her first job was testing satellites. She worked at the Satellite Centre in Bangalore. Her boss was Prof U. R. Rao. He later became the chairman of ISRO.
Anuradha developed electronic equipment for satellites. She worked at ISRO for 34 years. She became the most senior woman officer there.
A Role Model for Women in Science
Anuradha is a role model for many. She believes in equal treatment at work. She said, "You don't get any special treatment because you're a woman. You're also not discriminated against because you're a woman. You're treated as an equal here."
She always found science logical and interesting. She believes Indian girls are good at science and math. Her project director supported her greatly. He did not think that women and science do not mix.
Key Contributions to Space Programs
Anuradha has been a leader in many Indian space programs. She created a new way to control geo-synchronous satellites. These satellites stay in the same spot above Earth.
She successfully moved the GSAT-12 satellite into its orbit. She did this from the control facility in Hassan. Her innovative method made GSAT-12 a success. This method is still used today.
For the first time, an all-women team did this job at Hassan. As a project director, she led the launch of several communication satellites. These included GSAT-9, GSAT-17, and GSAT-18.
She also served in other important roles. She was a Project Manager and Deputy Project Director. She was also an Associate Project Director. These roles were for the Indian Remote Sensing and Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System programs. Her special skill is checking how satellites perform in space.
Inspiring Future Scientists
Anuradha's advice to young women is simple. She tells them to make plans and arrangements. She believes that seeing many women in space programs inspires others. They think, "If she can do it, so can I."
Her story encourages many people today. More and more women are choosing science careers because of her. She supervised a technical group of 20 engineers. She was part of an all-women research team. With Pramoda Hedge and Anuradha Prakash, she moved GSAT-12 into its final orbit. This was done from ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) in Hassan.
After GSAT-12, Anuradha T.K. led the launch of the larger GSAT-10 satellite. This happened in September 2012.
Awards and Recognition
Anuradha T.K. has received several awards for her work:
- 2003: Space Gold Medal award from the Astronautical Society of India. This was for her work in Space sciences.
- 2011: Suman Sharma Award from the National Design & Research Forum (NDRF) of IEI.
- 2012: ASI-ISRO Merit Award for creating an Indian communication spacecraft.
- 2012: ISRO Team Award for leading the GSAT-12 project.
